Britain Faced With Issues of Caste Discrimination

Some 5% of Britain's population are originally from the Indian subcontinent.  Apparently this has led to the importation into Britain of problems of caste discrimination. The London Mail reported yesterday on a case pending before an employment tribunal in which a couple-- from different castes-- claim they were forced from their jobs in a British law firm because of their marriage. Amardeep Begraj, a solicitor, a Sikh from the Punjab region, belongs to the Jat caste.  She met her husband, Vijay-- a  low-caste Dalit-- at the law firm where he worked as the practice manager.  They were warned by a senior colleague not to marry because of their caste differences.  Amardeep claims that her workload was increased and her secretarial support reduced as punishment after she was married, and that she was paid less than colleagues.  After Vijay was fired, Amardeep resigned from the firm. The employment tribunal is considering whether this constitutes racial or religious discrimination. Meanwhile, the government is considering whether to add caste to the equality law that now protects against discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion and sexual orientation.